Dinos welcome cross-border hoops battle

While the lineup for next week’s Battle of the Border hoops tournament has shrunk, the excitement surrounding the start of another year of university basketball hasn’t diminished.

Not in the slightest. In fact, for U of C Dinos head coach Dan Vanhooren, who’ll lead his squad into the three-day showdown at the University of Calgary’s Jack Simpson Gym, said he can’t wait for the action to get started.

“As always, we’re looking forward to the tournament and looking forward to another season. We’re excited about our team this year,” Vanhooren said, just days ahead of this year’s revised Battle of the Border, an annual basketball tourney that pits Canadian and American teams against one another.

This year’s edition of the Border Battle changed late in the week, however, and will feature a smaller lineup.

The Dinos and the Mount Royal Cougars will each battle the Wyoming Cowboys of the NCAA’s Division 1 Mountain West Conference.

Initially, the tournament was to be a five-team affair that would have also included the Montana State University Bobcats and the University of Alberta Golden Bears.

However, an announcement came out from the Bobcats Friday saying they would be unable to make the trip as a result of unforeseen circumstances and an incident involving two of their players.

The Golden Bears, meanwhile, had previously seen their game against the Cowboys cancelled because of a scheduling conflict.

With Montana State out, the Bears will no longer make the trip south.

While the circumstances are unfortunate, Vanhooren said it’s important his players use the tournament experience against the Cowboys to their full advantage.

“This is kind of a test phase for us,” Vanhooren explained.

“It’s fun because we get a chance to see what our team looks like. We get to focus on our lineup and on our players.”

Only five returning Dinos are expected to be back in U of C colours this year, so the Aug. 7-10 action will be key to the team’s preparations for the always-tough Canada West loop.

Vanhooren described this year’s club as “a team that’s learning.

“We’re quite a bit different than we were last year,” he said.

“But I think we’re going to be a good defensive team. We may not have as much talent as we did last year, but I think we’ll gain some grit.”

The Dinos’ first action in the Battle of the Border goes Tuesday night at 6 p.m. against Wyoming.